THE STATE ACADEMY OF FINE ARTS KARLSRUHEThe State Academy of Fine Arts Karlsruhe is rich in tradition and is counted among Germany’s most renowned institutions for fine arts education. Today‘s program structure holds true to an approach developed in the 1960s; it focuses on the fields of painting/graphic arts and sculpture. These classic disciplines encompass all contemporary forms of artistic expression, such as installation art, performance, as well as film and photography. Painting/graphic art and sculpture can be studied in either the Fine Art or the Art Education Teacher Training for Secondary Schools streams. Integral to the programs are the frequent op-portunities to exhibit student work, both in the Academy and at other venues.

The Fine Art students study together with the future art teachers under the guidance of their studio professor. The tradition of Studio practice is followed and held in high esteem. There is no year differentiation of students in the studios. It allows students in their early semesters to study alongside those who are fur-ther along in their studies. The approximately 300 students are split across 16 classes (13 in painting/graphic art and 3 in sculp-ture). Each class is headed by an internationally-renowned artist-professor and generally a student has that same professor throughout their years with us. The goal of the programs is for students to develop an independent artistic voice here at the State Academy of Fine Arts Karlsruhe.

FREEDOM IN THE STUDIO

Artistic practice in the studio has top priority in order to pro-mote the development of a personal visual language. Each class has a dedicated studio and each student has their own work space within it. The artist-professor acts as an adviser. The main mode of teaching includes the discussions about art and artistic expression within the class, which form part of the reg-ular meetings with their professor. However, the exchange with fellow students, both in and outside of the class, also supports young artists to develop their own paths.

SUPPORT IN THE WORKSHOPS

Every creative idea requires technical implementation: the independent work in the studio is flanked by the workshops where specialist tutors teach the technical skills an artist needs to develop. This takes place in courses, but also in individual instruction and workshop practice. The workshop tutors intro-duce artistic techniques such as photography, etching, lithog-raphy, film and painting techniques, as well as digital methods. The handling of materials such as wood, plaster or metal is explored, leading to potential solutions to questions posed in the realization of a work.

PRACTICE AND THEORY

Art, including contemporary art, however personal it may be, has a social, art historical and discursive connection. The Art History and Art Theory professors teach theoretical principles through a combination of lectures and seminars that comple-ment the extensive practical offer in the studios and workshops. The program leader for Art Education and Teaching Methodol-ogy links artistic to pedagogical practice, a crucial element in the education of future secondary school art teachers. Fine Arts students also use these courses to expand their philosophical and theoretical knowledge, as well as their transferable skills.

PROGRAM STREAMS

The Academy in Karlsruhe offers recognized degree courses through their diploma and Master in Fine Art and a Bachelor and Master certification for Art Education Teacher Training for Secondary Schools. Doctoral studies can be pursued in art his-tory, art theory and teaching methodologies for art.

APPLICATIONS AND FURTHER INFORMATION

Requirements

Applications to study for both the Fine Arts diploma and for the Art Education Teacher Training degrees are accepted during winter semester. The minimum age for enrollment is 17 years of age. Prospective students must pass an application process comprised of a portfolio assessment, a brief interview and a practical examination.

For the Art Education program, applicants must also have at-tained the general higher education entrance qualification or a recognized equivalent. This is not necessary to apply for the Fine Art diploma.

Information

Prospective students, current applicants and existing students should contact the Student Registry or the Examinations office with any queries about their studies.

Student Registry +49 (0) 721 926 5224 / 5227 sekretariat@kunstakademie-karlsruhe.de

Examinations office +49 (0) 721 926 5222 / 5223 pruefung@kunstakademie-karlsruhe.de

Details about the application process can be found at www.kunstakademie-karlsruhe.de/en/apply/

General information: about exhibitions, lectures, contacts etc. +49 (0) 721 926 5205 mail@kunstakademie-karlsruhe.de

Address:

Staatliche Akademie der Bildenden Künste Karlsruhe Reinhold-Frank-Str. 67 | 76133 Karlsruhe | Germany www.kunstakademie-karlsruhe.de

THE BUILDINGS

Many buildings of the State Academy of Fine Arts are located in Karlsruhe‘s Weststadt, within walking distance of each other. Most of the painting and graphic art classes, as well as a large number of workshops, are based in the Wilhelminian-style front and rear buildings at 81/83 Reinhold-Frank-Straße. The front building is known as the “main building” of the Academy which also hosts public events in its lecture theatre and atrium exhibition space.

Two of the sculpture classes and several sculpture workshops are located at Bismarckstraße 67, at the so-called sculpture garden. The library, rectorate and administration with student registry and examinations office, as well as seminar and exam-ination rooms, are located at Reinhold-Frank-Straße 67. A few steps from there - in the Schönleber-Villa (Jahnstraße 18) - are the Art Education seminar rooms and the photography work-shop. Two painting classes and one sculpture class have their studios and workshops at Schloß Scheibenhardt, situated be-tween Karlsruhe and the town of Ettlingen.

INTERNATIONAL

The Academy in Karlsruhe welcomes international professors and students from around the world. There is also a lively ex-change with partner universities in Europe (through ERASMUS) and non-European countries. The Baden-Württemberg Schol-arship enables students to study at the Escuela Nacional de Pintura, Escultura y Grabado „La Esmeralda“ in Mexico. State grants also facilitate exchanges with other renowned institu-tions and universities in Africa (at KNUST, Faculty of Arts at Kwame Nkrumah University in Kumasi, Ghana and Christoph Schlingensief’s the “Operndorf Afrika” in Burkina Faso) and the University of Minnesota (UMN) at Minneapolis, USA.

PRIZES AND AWARDS

Generous support from the state of Baden-Württemberg, insti-tutional sponsors and private art patrons enables the Academy to award several prizes for outstanding student artistic achieve-ments. These include college scholarships, travel bursaries, graduate grants, and exhibition and graduate awards.

ART AND PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT

Exhibitions

Art needs visibility, which the State Academy of Fine Arts Karls-ruhe generates through the major exhibitions it organizes. The annual exhibition in December shows works by advanced and graduate students, selected by a jury of professors (on a rotation basis) who also curate the exhibition. The end of the academic year is celebrated with the summer exhibition to which all students contribute works. Added to these fixtures is a range of smaller exhibitions, such as by the state gradu-ate scholarship applicants and by the international exchange students. There are exam exhibitions by the Fine Art diploma students, as well as by the Art Education bachelors and masters students. Each year the Meister students have their graduate show in one of Baden-Württemberg‘s many art museums and galleries. There is also an exhibition series featuring works by the professors and other members of the teaching staff.

Public Lectures

During the teaching semester there are regular evening lectures with international guests from the fields of art and scholarship. The Riemschneider Foundation Karlsruhe supports an events series with respected curators, as well as the Riemschneider Lectures and publication series, which highlights topics in cur-rent art research and theory. In addition, the State Academy of Fine Arts Karlsruhe regularly organizes thematic conferences and symposia.

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Photos: Pietro Pellini » » »»